FARMINGTON – The state of New Mexico officially surpassed 1 million COVID-19 vaccine doses administered, and on March 19, the Department of Health announced this makes the state No. 1 in the nation for efficiency in distributing the vaccine.

According to a news release issued by the state Department of Health, as of March 19, 37.4% of New Mexicans older than 16 have received the first dose, while 22.4% are fully vaccinated.

In San Juan County, vaccinations are on track with the state. In fact, the percentage of fully vaccinated people in the county, 26.3%, beats the state’s number.

Out of 1 million vaccine doses administered statewide, 35,901 went to residents of San Juan County, who have received one shot and an additional 25,529 to people who are fully vaccinated, according to the public dashboard.

“Vaccinating our community has truly been a community effort,” said San Juan County Emergency Manager Mike Mestas. “Multiple providers have added the capacity to get as many people vaccinated as we can. The team approach has led to almost one-third of the eligible population being vaccinated to protect others and getting us closer to a more normal world.”

According to San Juan County spokesman Devin Neeley, in addition to the New Mexico Department of Health vaccination clinics, San Juan Regional Medical Center, Presbyterian Medical Services and other businesses are offering vaccinations.

New Mexico residents now eligible to register for the vaccine include: health care workers and residents of most health care facilities, people age 60 and older, educators, early childhood professionals, school staff members, people with chronic health conditions and essential workers.

“We’ve made extraordinary progress in a very short time – and we intend to keep going,” said Department of Health Cabinet Secretary Tracie Collins. “We look forward to offering a vaccine to every New Mexican who wants it.”

To learn more about New Mexico’s vaccination efforts, visit the Department of Health’s COVID-19 Vaccine Dashboard at https://cvvaccine.nmhealth.org/public-dashboard.html.

mmitchell@durangoherald.com